Personal views on Cornwall and National Politics

Pasty Post Script

Yesterday the Lib Dems at Cornwall Council put forward a motion asking the council to write to the Chancellor objecting to the pasty tax. Usually on cross party issues, councillors get cross party backing for motions but not this time, so I guess it’s one for the leaflets.

Obviously, there are not many people in Cornwall who would support this stupid, unenforceable and discriminatory tax. The big question though is what will our MPs do when the vote comes? They might have made their feelings known by supporting an amendment that opposed the tax but they will have the opportunity to vote again when the Bill comes before parliament in the next few weeks.

The pasty tax is just the latest in a long line of measures that are punishing the majority for the economic problems caused by a small minority of people and the worst of it is, the rich are still getting richer.

More than three quarters of the Tory/Lib Dem cuts are to public spending (which provides services to the majority of people) and benefit cuts. Half of the rest are VAT rises, which hit the poorest hardest.

The richest 1000 people in Britain have amassed extra wealth of £133 BILLION over the last three years and the coalition government has just given them another tax cut – worth about £14,000 a year for those with incomes of £1 million a year.

A cynic might think that the Lib Dems are protesting so loudly about the Tory Pasty Tax in order to distract attention from the fact that it is also Lib Dem policy. But I try to avoid cynicism, so let’s wait and see how Cornwall’s MPs – Tory and Lib Dem – vote when the crunch comes.